Linden Lunch: Tonic and A La Bouffe

Full disclosure: we’ve fallen behind with a lot of restaurants we visited. Way behind. We visited these two in January already, so please forgive me if I’ve forgotten some of the details.

We’ve been fans of A La Bouffe for some time now. It’s such a pleasant French eatery, with the changing menu always incorporating the French traditions we all love. The first time we went there, we got to sample frog legs, and it was so much nicer than what it sounds. And an added bonus is that they’re on The Entertainer app!

A Bar Called Tonic

When we arrived, we noticed that a new gin bar opened right next door (actually connected with a doorway on the inside) named Tonic.

We have heard about it here-and-there, but didn’t realise it was next to, and affiliated with, A La Bouffe. Of course we arrived too early for lunch, so we had to have a G&T or three…

The showstopper has to be the Mother Fluffer. Gin, tonic, a toasted marshmallow, and candy floss!

It’s a beautiful drink, with an unexpected twist in the taste created by the candy floss. I had a sip, and it was really interesting and tasty. The Flower Power is also a beautiful G&T, with blueberries and flowers decorating the drink.

There are so many interesting G&T’s on the menu that it really warrants a few follow-up visits.

On to lunch!

As I mentioned, the menu changes based on what’s in season, so you’re always guaranteed your food will be fresh and seasonal. I started with snails in garlic and parsley butter, because garlic. This is not your standard Spur-style snails; the ingredients are fresh, and you can taste it’s real butter. In other words, perfect.

I decided on the rump with a mushroom and walnut sauce, prepared medium-rare. The meat was expertly cooked, and the sauce softened the meaty taste superbly.

Paired with a beautiful Shiraz from the Swartland!

So in closing, A La Bouffe is still one of my favourite lunch spots, and is now even better with Tonic next door. Go for a G&T, then have a long, lazy French lunch. And then go for another G&T!

Boozy Foodie (she said):

Okay, let me quickly add my bit!

I won’t repeat what Noble Savage shared about Tonic, except that it was a real welcome find! Looking at his photos again, I’m so ready to go back. There is such a huge variety of gin and gin cocktails, it will take you a very long time to run out of options.

We just keep coming back!

Isn’t it one of the most beautiful dishes you’ve ever seen? It was probably one of the prettiest and most interesting dishes I have had in a while. Really fresh and tasty.

Mains was a delicious country style pearl barley, wild mushroom and parmesan bowl.

I am actually going to try making this at home. Country comfort in a bowl, a very satisfying meal indeed!

That is probably what I like most about A La Bouffe – Chef Romauld Denesle serves real, unpretentious, good food. Although the restaurant has changed a bit since our first visit (Tonic is sharing some of the floor space now) it will always remain in my memory as the restaurant where I first tasted frog legs!

We are keen to explore much more of Linden, there are quite a few restaurants and spots on our ‘to do list’! This is really a fun and exciting neighbourhood to explore. Go Linden.

Since we started writing this post we have learnt the A La Bouffe has closed it’s doors, but we continued as a tribute! We had a fabulous ‘last meal’ there!

We are hoping that the funky and happening Tonic will keep the lovely space going! Go check them out 🙂